Error detection and correction (ECC) engines are well known to those skilled in the art. An ECC engine is a device which performs a process of detecting for error and correcting errors to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data during a data transmission. Different ECC engines are based on Hamming Codes, Reed-Solomon Codes or other techniques to correct for data errors.
In memory systems a memory controller typically writes data and ECC data to a memory device. The ECC data is used by the controller during a read operation to identify and correct errors that may have occurred since the data was written to the memory.
Memory devices can be categorized in two broad areas as volatile and non-volatile. Volatile memory devices require power to maintain data, while non-volatile memories are capable of maintaining data in the absence of a power supply.